An examination of ham colour fading using optical fibre methods

Cormac Sheridan; Marion O'Farrell; Elfed Lewis; Colin Flanagan; John F. Kerry; Nick Jackman

doi:10.1117/12.686162

23 October 2006 An examination of ham colour fading using optical fibre methods

Cormac Sheridan, Marion O'Farrell, Elfed Lewis, Colin Flanagan, John F. Kerry, Nick Jackman

Proceedings Volume 6381, Optics for Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Foods; 63810I (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.686162
Event: Optics East 2006, 2006, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Abstract

Sliced ham products undergo significant discolouration and fading when placed in retail display cabinets. This is due to factors such as illumination of the display cabinet, packaging, i.e. low OTR (Oxygen Transmission Rate) or very low OTR packaging, product to headspace ratio and percentage of residual oxygen. This paper presents initial investigations into the development of a sensor to measure rate of colour fading in cured ham, in order to predict an optimum colour sell-by-date. An investigation has been carried out that shows that spectral reflections offer more reproducibility than CIE L*a*b* readings, which are, at present, most often used to measure meat colour. Self-Organising Maps were then used to classify the data into five colour fading stages, from very pink to grey. The results presented here show that this classifier could prove an effective system for determining the rate of colour fading in ham.

Citation Download Citation

Cormac Sheridan, Marion O'Farrell, Elfed Lewis, Colin Flanagan, John F. Kerry, and Nick Jackman "An examination of ham colour fading using optical fibre methods", Proc. SPIE 6381, Optics for Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Foods, 63810I (23 October 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.686162

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